In a report published on Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense recognised a “scarce” of ammunition linked to the war against Iran, a finding that the US Government had so far refused to confirm.
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15/09/2026
by
Lusa
The Pentagon Inspector General's report estimates that between 28 February and 30 June, the “Epic Fury” operation against Iran cost about $33.4 billion (EUR 31.2 billion), of which USD 22.3 billion (EUR 20.8 billion) was spent only on fired ammunition.
“ Expenses on ammunition during Operation Epic Fury caused a shortage in strategic inventories and revealed bottlenecks in the munitions refueling industries,” says the document, which highlights, however, measures taken by the Department to accelerate production.
In June, when the press reported that the United States was rationing the use of missiles, particularly interceptors, the US Administration denied this information, with President Donald Trump claiming that the country had “extreme quantities of ammunition”.
In early September, Trump also wrote that the US had “ virtually unlimited amounts of ammunition.”.
According to the media, the lack of ammunition led the President not to renew the large-scale attacks on Tehran during the summer.
Despite the massive use of interceptors, “the Iranian attacks damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and facilities on U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan,” the report notes.
The document, covering the months April to June 2026, lists the damage to the air fleet: four F-15 destroyed, one F-35 damaged, seven KC-135 refuelling planes damaged or destroyed and “up to 30” MQ-9 attack drones Reaper destroyed, among others.
The report estimates in “more than 50,000” the number of US military personnel involved in the Gulf war, triggered on 28 February by Israeli-American attacks against Iran.
The reprisals of Iran and its allies damaged diplomatic buildings in four countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — added the Pentagon.
In recent days, there has been an exchange of attacks on oil tankers between Iran and the United States in the context of the dispute for the control of the maritime route, which is essential for the world trade in oil, gas and other raw materials.